Vatican intrigue ranges from pope's secretary to Boston's O'Malley

Pope Benedict XVI's resignation — or, more bluntly, abdication — has everyone buzzing about how the Vatican and the new pope will handle a retired pope living in a monastery on the property.

Pope Benedict XVI has managed to confound a 2,000-year-old institution that should have thought of everything by now.

His resignation — or, more bluntly, abdication — has everyone buzzing about how the Vatican and the new pope will handle a retired pope living in a monastery on the property.

It hasn't escaped notice that after Benedict becomes the Bishop Emeritus of Rome, what he thinks will certainly be highly influential. And who believes he will be hands-off?

Imagine the atmosphere in the College of Cardinals as they deliberate over who the next pope will be. Benedict won't be in the room, but his staring presence will be felt by everyone.

He ominously laid down a marker of what he expects on Thursday, declaring that Vatican II has been misinterpreted as liberalization of the church when it is actually the opposite, and that he expects the new pope to further advance his idea of the "true council."

The intrigue deepened when the Vatican confirmed that Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, or "Gorgeous Georg," as the Italians call him, will remain as Benedict's trusted private secretary, live at his residence, and at the same time work for the new pope as prefect of the papal household in the Apostolic Palace.

How's that for looking over the new pope's shoulder? Any chance that he'll be Benedict's conduit to the pope? If you were the new pope, how would you like it?

All the speculation about Benedict's future has taken the place of Vatican rituals in the conversation about the end of a papacy.

So here's one to consider: We know that when a pope dies, the ritual is to call his name three times and then, it is believed, tap him on the head with a small silver hammer to wake him up if he is in a deep sleep.

This is more than understandable, since for centuries people had feared waking up 6 feet under, put there because they were mistaken for dead.

Having established that the pope had indeed passed on, the hammer was then used to destroy his signet ring so no one could forge the seal on papal papers.

We hear that the ring is still to be destroyed, although it is unclear whether Benedict, or whatever he will be called at that point, will be in the room to witness it.

Also, I think it can be safely assumed that he will not be hit on the head with the silver hammer.

The Vatican will adjust its rituals to deal with Benedict's resignation. After all, it has changed or ended rituals in the past when times changed.

Finally, I can't pass up the opportunity to predict that Cardinal Sean O'Malley, archbishop of Boston, actually has a small chance of being elected pope. He's conservative. He's the right age. He's charismatic. And yes, he's an American, but I believe most people in the developing world look up to Americans still.

O'Malley says he doesn't want the job of pope, just the way he once told me that he didn't want the job as Boston archbishop. I respectfully told him I didn't think that would matter, that he would be coming back to New England from Palm Beach in under a year.

That's what happened, because O'Malley is uniquely qualified because of his handling of the sexual abuse scandal. He still is.

So there's an outside chance he won't need the return trip on the round-trip ticket he bought to Rome. Good luck, Cardinal Sean.

Steve Urbon's column appears in The Standard-Times and SouthCoastToday.com. He can be reached with comments and suggestions at surbon@s-t.com or 508-979-4448.